While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still the king of the cinematic superhero world, the two biggest superhero names are still DC’s Superman and Batman. The list of upcoming DC movies includes a Superman release date in just over a year, and two different Batman movies coming in the future. While I was hoping we might get news the sequel to The Batman would start shooting soon, that’s unfortunately not the case.
Appearing at the ACE Superhero Comic Con 2024, (via PopVerse) Andy Serkis revealed that he really doesn’t know much of anything about the plans for The Batman sequel, other than the fact that production isn’t scheduled to begin this year, something he only recently found out. Serkis said…
Basically, I know nothing about the movie other than that I’ve just found out that we’re probably likely to be starting filming early next year. Therefore, if you do the math, it’ll be a year and a half after that.
Actually Andy Serkis’ estimation is generous. If we do the math, and principal photography takes place in early 2025, then we’d be looking at a summer 2026 release date. But The Batman sequel’s current release date is October 2026. While that answer isn’t necessarily surprising considering the slow movement we’ve seen on the film, it is more than a little disappointing.
If we look at the bright side, the fact that Serkis has had discussions about when filming will begin at least indicates there are real plans for production to begin then. The Batman II release date was originally set for October 2025, before being pushed back a year. This news at least implies further delays are not expected. Not that they won’t happen, but all current information indicates things will be ready to go by then.
Part of the reason I was hoping things might actually move faster is that Andy Serkis now has other things he’s set to be doing around the same time that the new Batman movie is apparently going to go into production. Serkis is reprising his role as Gollum for a new Peter Jackson-produced Lord of the Rings movie. However, Serkis is also set to direct that movie, which means he has a lot of work in front of him behind the camera.
Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum is reported to have a 2026 release date. Considering all other Lord of the Rings movies came out in December, we can guess that will be the plan for this one, which means Gollum will be hitting theaters only two months after the Batman sequel. This means their productions could possibly overlap as well.
The possible overlap may have been exactly the reason Serkis was recently in a discussion about when the superhero movie would start filming, getting schedules aligned to make sure the actor would be available. His work on The Batman might not be that significant so the conflict might be minor. It does sound like The Batman II is coming…eventually.
